


Liars!AU

by soapfireblog



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapfireblog/pseuds/soapfireblog
Summary: The Conductor...An Idol, a Movie Director. A legend....A LIAR.Carrying a 7 year lie of cheating and soul-selling sins... Will he finally put the truth to light, or die in his own weight of lies?
Kudos: 5





	1. Confrontation.

**Author's Note:**

> HEY UH HI. THIS IS KINDA AN AU BASED OF ALL MY HEADCANNONS AND MY OC, OTTO. SO, UH, ENJOY!

The Conductor walked around the studio. It was night. The dead of night. He was walking through the studio, but not his. He was trying to find DJ Grooves’ studio. He had a soul less expression on his face, even without his eyes being seen, you can tell that he felt NOTHING. Almost meer silence filled the rooms that he wondered through, creaks and cracks were faintly heard. He was not alone. He knew that.

“...”  
“Yer can come ‘oot, lad.”  
Suddenly, a bird that looked exactly like him flew down, facing him at a distance. He had wings, a Blue Jacket with Stars imprinted on them and a black and grey striped shirt. He looked mad. Yet, he did not speak. He pulled out a notepad and started to write…  
“You know someone will find out someday, right, Malcom?”  
…  
This kid had no voice. He never has. Silent...THAT is what he has always been.  
“Yer barely know anything,” The Conductor said in an intimidating tone. “Yer don’t scare me, Otto.”  
The kid - apparently named Otto- looked at The Conductor with a smirk. Then...That's where he realised.  
“...HOW long have yer known?”  
“Known longer than you think. You CHEATER.”  
“You think that i’m gonna cower ‘tae yer JUST ‘cuz ye know a wee little secret of mine?”  
Otto closed his wings, his feathers having a sort of shine in the moonlight.  
“No. No I don’t. You CAN’T even cower in the first place, can you? You soulless bastard.”  
The Conductor was taken back. He knew THAT?! He WASN’T supposed to know that! HE has a big...BIG...Fucking problem.  
“I- … You-... “  
“HOW DID YOU?-”  
He couldn’t get his words out. “What is happening to me?”, he thought.  
“Am I…”  
“Afraid?”, he pondered to himself. He hasn’t felt emotions like this in a VERY long time.  
“Perhaps you should be scared of me.”  
Even without a voice, he can tell that Otto was clearly confident. The way he wrote...His wording. Something about this was different.  
This is not the mute grandson he had prior to this.  
No.  
This is a different bird with different motives. But, that wasn’t on The Conductor’s mind; No, no. He had bigger problems to worry about. How much does Otto really know? Now THAT...That is something to be scared about. THAT - to The Conductor- is something NIGHTMARE inducing. What if the word got out that he has been CHEATING at the Annual Bird Movie Awards for almost 7 years now? He, and more importantly, his public image, would be DESTROYED. He has to play his cards very, very carefully.  
“What will they think of you?” Otto wrote.  
“What will OLIVIA think of you?”  
The Conductor thought for a moment…Olivia...His favourite grandkid, and most importantly, his favourite granddaughter. They are so close. What will she think of her Idol when she finds out he’s been lying to her practically her whole life? 13 years of age all of the grandkids are. All eight of them with their own goals and ambitions. Olivia is...Well, very interested in Law. She wants to deliver justice and bring the truth to light.  
How will she react that she’s been playing a liar's game all of her life?  
“DON’T YER DARE TELL THEM!” The Conductor yelled.  
“Why NOT?” Otto combated.  
“YOU know what you signed up to, Malcom. You SIGNED Snatchers contract. PEN TO PAPER. You KNEW. And you planned it out, didn’t you?”  
“I-” He didn’t know what to say. For the first time in almost 7 years, SOMEONE was forcing him to realise the painful truth.  
“YOU planned it. I know you did. I admit, Malcom, you’re a SMART motherfucker. You planned that if you had no soul, you would have no emotions, correct?”  
…  
The Conductor silently nodded.  
“AND With no emotions, YOU would have no moral consciousness or REGRETS.”  
Otto was getting angry by this point. No- not angry...Frustrated. He looked both frustrated and sorrowful at the same time.  
“YOU COULDN’T DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES, COULD YOU?! SO YOU DECIDED TO SELL YOUR SOUL TO SNATCHER TO GET EXTRA HELP A N D TO GET THAT REGRET OFF YOUR SHOULDERS.”  
“AM I, OR AM I NOT, W-R-O-N-G?”  
The Conductor was hesitant for a moment, unsure of what to say.  
“WELL?!” Even though all what Otto was saying was written, you can see the despair and sadness in him… and there was a fuck-ton of it.  
“ANSWER ME!”  
The Conductor sighed and finally spoked up.  
“Yer...Yer’re correct. I don’t know HOW, or even WHY you know what you do, but...You do.”  
Silence.  
Otto opened his wings again, looking at the Conductor with despair inside both of them.  
“You have until the next movie awards to confess to the public yourself.” Otto wrote.  
“I don’t CARE if you win or lose.”  
The Conductor suddenly looked very intimidated, like he was threatened. Well, he- he WAS in a way.  
“AND what if I DON’T?” He questioned.  
“Then I'll take matters into my own hands and confess FOR you.”  
The Conductor gasped, his voice turning into a mish-mash of fear,shock and anger.  
“YER WOULDN’T D-A-R-E, LAD!”  
Otto smirked yet again.  
“What do I have to lose?”  
“WHO Do yer ‘tink the public will believe? ME; A celebrity, famous, an Icon. Or a wee ‘lil bird who’s neva spoken a day in his life?”  
Otto looked down at his paper for a moment.  
“Oh, they’ll believe me.”  
Malcom tilted his head. How? What does Otto have to throw against him?  
“Remember; You have until the next Annual Bird Movie Awards.”  
Otto started to fly away at super speeds.  
“LAD- WAIT!-”  
He was gone.  
The Conductor quickly ran out of the building, making a poor attempt to chase after him. Yet, Otto was already gone.  
Silence yet again.   
He sat on the Studio’s footsteps, reflecting on what just happened. Otto’s sorrowful look filled his mind, unable to get out of his head. Confusion...Was he scared? Afraid? Worried? He can’t even identify emotions anymore. For so long he has felt nothing...He couldn’t even remember what having emotions or a moral conscience felt like anymore.  
He can’t remember what anything felt like.

He can’t remember what it felt like to be happy.


	2. The Aftermath

The Conductor went to the train station, the moonlight shimmering in the night sky. All of these thoughts lurking in his mind. “How does Otto know?” He thought. “And most importantly...How MUCH does he know?”...That was the key. If he knew too much, a big, BIG problem would arise. The next movie awards are in two weeks. Two weeks….Until his sins might be revealed. For the first time in forever, he felt PANIC. He has forgotten what panic felt like. 7 years...7 years without a soul. 7 years without emotions. What has he gotten himself into? A world of deceit and lies...Just to hide his own sinful actions? He continued to ponder the events that unfolded...Otto knew so much. How? And most importantly;

Why did he look so sad?  
Why did he look so disappointed?

Why did he have the look of guilt?

Those questions continued to flow in and out of The Conductor’s mind. He looked at his right hand. There was a purple swirl imprinted on it, with a slight glow... He stared at it. Pondering what he got himself into in the first place. He decided to sell his own soul; and for what? Some stupid awards? Fame? Fortune? Not even he knew anymore. His motives- and most importantly, his feelings- is something he has long forgotten about. He has forgotten everything he knew, just to protect some lie. But...No, this isn’t just HIS problem anymore. No, no. It’s also Otto’s. That look...That look of pure DESPAIR.  
He has clearly known for a long, LONG time.  
But, why did he have the look of guilt? He hasn’t done anything wrong! Unless, he knows something he shouldn’t… And we already know that he knows about the cheating and The Conductor having NO soul. What else does he know?  
The Conductor hopped onto the Owl Express, him starting the train not long after. Those intrusive thoughts infecting his mind like a plague, unable to get them out of his head. That is not the only thoughts can’t get out of his head, no no,  
There were voices.  
Voices...Voices. Whos? He couldn’t make out. Not his, No. Not DJ Grooves’; couldn’t be him.  
…  
The voices. They continued to scream at him. Was he alone? Who knows. It CAN’T possibly be Otto’s voice reflecting in his mind, because he HAS none. He felt...F e a r. He was scared.  
“...”  
“What in the peck is goin’ on ‘wit me?!” He questioned himself.  
He had no idea what was going on with himself anymore.  
He had no idea who he was.  
All that he knew is…

That he was just a fucking liar.  
“Is that all that I am…?” He asked himself.  
The Owl express stopped around the area where his house was, then he walked home. The voices continued to echo in his head….  
“Liar...Liar..” He thought.  
“L i a r.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY I WAS GETTING STUCK WRITING THIS BUT I STILL WANTED TO GET IT OUT, SO SORRY IF IT'S SHORTER THEN THE FIRST ONE. DON'T WORRY, I HAVE MANY IDEAS FOR THE OTHERS SO...YEAH.


	3. “NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO-.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So glad to know..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : )

The Conductor walked into the studio early the next morning. None was there. Well, that was what he thought. He was silent as he walked through the studio’s entrance, walking into the reception area. His mind was still stuck on last night's event. Otto was right...But how did he know? HOW did Otto know that he sold his soul? HOW did he know his PLANS that he had before that? How? How? HOW?! He didn’t know. The Conductor looked into his suit pocket, where he kept his soul contract. Alas, it was gone. His heart missed a beat. It was gone. The creaks and cracks were faintly heard yet again, like they did last night. He wasn’t alone again. No. Otto was here again. Where? He didn’t know. His hand…  
It started to turn PURPLE.  
“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO-”  
The pure PANIC started to settle in as the purple started to grow across his body.  
“NAE! NOT HERE! NOT NOW!” He shouted at himself. Otto suddenly flew down, yet again standing across from him, at a distance. He grabbed his notepad and pencil, yet, he didn’t write anything. His all-knowing look said it all.  
“L-LAD!” The Conductor shouted, desperation and despair in his voice.  
“I-I UH-” He wanted to call out, but none could help him.  
“Looking for this?” Otto wrote, as he grabbed The Conductor’s soul contract from his own jacket’s pocket. Shock shivered down his spine.  
“HOW IN THE PECK DID YER GET T-H-A-T?!” He tried to Snatch it, but Otto simply flew out of his reach.  
“I have my ways, Malcom. You and I BOTH do apparently.”  
The purple continued to grow across The Conductor’s body. There was nothing that Otto could do about it, even if he wanted to.  
“Give.That.Back.”  
Otto looked at him, unphased, like The Conductor was just a pathetic little child.  
“Nah, sorry. I need it.”  
“WHY IN THE FLYING FECK WOULD YER ‘NEED IT’?!” The Conductor shouted in anger, trying to at least SCARE him to give it back. But Otto didn’t look like he cared.  
“Evidence. You THINK the public will believe me if I told them UNARMED?”  
You can tell, even in writing form, that Otto was patronising him.  
“WHA- E-V-I-D-E-N-C-E?!”  
The Conductor was...in disbelief. This just implied that Otto knows SO MUCH MORE than he thought. Perhaps...He knows more than HE Does.  
“You need evidence to support an argument, no? I need to make sure they will believe me if you do not compromise.”  
“Yer NAE scare me, Kiddo.”  
His voice...It started to sound like Snatchers and The Conductors at the same time. Like they were overlapping each other, yet Otto didn’t look scared. If anything, he looked more confident, like he knew exactly what was happening. He knew. HE KNEW.  
“I know I don’t. But, if you had a soul,” He smirked.  
“You WOULD be.”  
“PFT! Why would I be AFRAID of a kid like yerself?” The Purple continued to grow.  
“Yer’re tooOOOO scared to even TALK. Nevermind be Intimidatin’.”  
Otto looked down as he continued to write.  
“Not like I want to stay silent...I have no choice. And, trust me, I know everything. I know things that you have suppressed.”  
Otto put the contract back in his jacket pocket, looking at The Conductor .  
“I mean,” Otto continued to write.  
“I kn-”  
He was cut off from The Conductor turning quickly purple for a second, quickly dashing at him, slashing his stomach, causing a bleeding wound. Otto fell to his knees, his wings quickly opening again.  
The Conductor quickly looked back at Otto, after realising what he had done. He stumbled back, feeling REGRET after what he has just done to his OWN GRANDSON..  
“OH-OH GOD-” He started to panic.  
“OH- OH PECK- WHA- WHAT HAVE I-”  
The sounds of Otto’s blood dripped from the knife. The Conductor dropped the knife, rushing over to Otto. A pool of blood surrounded the winged bird, his mouth bleeding, him gripping onto the slash would, his hand covered in blood. One of his two eyes was revealed...It was green with a red pupil, a trail of a purple glow there as well. His breathing was slightly heavy, a grey- yet pink- heart appeared above Otto. It cracked slightly before disappearing.  
“LAD- OH- OH SHITE- OH FECK- LAD I-” The Conductor couldn’t get his words out. He started to overflow and overstimulate with emotions. Suddenly, a Black heart, similar to the one Otto had,but with an Orange outline, appeared above The Conductor’s head.  
“LAD! I-I’M..I-”  
Otto grabbed a sort of Star...a NIGHTMARE star out from his pocket. It was green, red outline, and a purple glow, just like his eye. He quickly smashed it on the ground, those three colours turned into a sort of smoke, and it went into The Conductor’s soul.  
“Aye?” Silence.  
Suddenly, everything turned black...The last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed him was Otto’s  
Sad,  
Painfilled,  
Despair consumed,  
Face.


	4. "Illusions"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> Is this who he really is? Deep down inside...Is this who he is??  
> ...  
> Is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! As you noticed, this chapter is a tad bit shorter. I feel like this chapter is short and sweet, but I did indeed struggle a little, but not as much as Chapter two. So ENJOY!

The Conductor woke up to a pitch black, barren wasteland. How long has he been out? He doesn’t know. Where is he? No clue. He quickly stood up, feeling nothing again. Otto is gone. This isn’t the studio reception…  
“Aye? Where am I?” He questioned.  
“...LADDD?” He called out for Otto. He called out for anyone.  
But nobody came.  
…  
Silence.  
The purple, glowing swirl on his right hand was still there...A reminder that he is just a soulless liar. He looked at it, feeling nothing. A symbol. A destiny. Otto was right again...He DID sign to this. No, he was not forced. He did this out of his own free will. Not only has this affected HIS Life now, No. No, It’s affected Otto's, too. The way he wrote, his despair...Otto clearly has suffered because of this...But for how long? None, except him, knows. Those trials and tribulations he must’ve had to endure… Had to be nothing but horrid. The Conductor and Otto used to be close as anything, but, all of that has changed…One day, EVERYTHING fell apart. What happened? What happened to the Little bird Malcom used to know? Instead of just a quiet, silent bird...In these last 5 years...None barely knows Otto anymore. Silent. Reclusive. Scared of any contact. Not even his 7 other siblings know him anymore. Those thoughts swam in The Conductor’s mind.  
“What happened?” He thought.  
What happened indeed, Malcom.

He continued to walk in this world of nothing, looking for anything, or anyone, to help.  
…  
Nothing. None. Yet, still, he felt nothing. He saw something,from a distance. A mirror? He ran up to it and looked at his reflection...But that reflection...It wasn’t him, No. It looked just like him, but...Purple with two yellow, glowing swirls on his cheeks, like the purple one on his right hand. It had a big, evil smile, with yellow eyes and purple pupils. That was his reflection. That is what he was staring back at. Suddenly, the...The SNATCHED version of him stepped out of the Mirror.  
“OH FU- OH-” The Conductor stumbled back a little.  
“OH PECK- ROIGHT THEN-”  
“I NAE LIKE THIS-”  
The Snatched Conductor grabbed a knife and dashed forward...The Conductor closed his eyes...But he felt nothing. A few seconds later, he opened them. He was fine! He was Ok!  
…  
He was fine? HE WAS OK?! He instantly looked backwards, then his heart stopped.  
The Snatched Conductor was there with a bloody knife, with that exact same smile...He didn’t go for The Conductor , no…  
He went after Otto.  
Otto was there, on his knees, bleeding significantly, with several slash wounds.  
“LAD!” The Conductor called out. But nobody could hear him. None knows he was there.  
Otto’s face...It was filled with pain and despair. He tried to crawl away, but The Snatched Conductor simply just knocked him down again.  
“NAE!” He shouted.  
“STOP IT! STOP IT! YER’RE HU-”  
The Snatched Conductor slashed Otto a few more times, cutting The Conductor off. He gasped. A teardrop fell down from his face...Was he...Crying? He...He was crying.  
The Conductor quickly ran over to Otto, who was bleeding immensely. His breathing was slow...And it got even slower.  
“OH, OH PECK. OH FUCK- OH LORD-” The Conductor turned and faced...Himself.  
“WHAT HAVE YER DONE, YE MONSTA?!”  
The Conductor wanted to shout- no...he wanted to scream. He looked at The Snatched Conductor...Himself. Is that who he REALLY is deep down inside? The Snatched Conductor quickly dashed at The Conductor again, knife in hand.  
“AYE-”  
…  
Everything went black yet again. Darkness...Darkness.


	5. Awoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain in his chest, mind filled with Regret.
> 
> What did that vision mean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK HI HELLO. THIS IS VERY VERY VERY SHORT BECAUSE I WAS HONESTLY VERY STUCK ON HOW TO CONVAY THE STORY. THIS MAY HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT I'LL TRY NOT TO.

He woke up with a strong pain in his chest. He was on the dead bird studio’s reception floor, heavily breathing. He sat up, weakly. He started to get fed up with everything fading into darkness. But, this was different. The blood of Otto is still on the ground. He looked at it, crawling backwards, remembering. Where was he?! And is he ok…? That wound looked pretty deep. The blood still looked very fresh. He couldn’t have been out for over 10 minutes. Maybe even 5. Despite feeling like an eternity, he might have just been in that illusion for a few minutes…What happened? And what did those illusions mean?

He stood up, looking at the ceiling rafts. The building is a little bit too tall, so it is easy to get up there, to sit there and watch everything from down below if you have a way to access   
them. That is where Otto must’ve ran off to, and where he came from yesterday night.  
“LAD?!” He shouted up there. Wondering if he was there.  
There was no response.  
“ARE YER UP THERE?!”  
…  
Silence. Well, not like Otto could shout back anyways. The Conductor sighed, looking down at his own bloody hands. What has he become....? He is just a husk of the man he used to be. A soulless, lying, cheating husk.  
“LAD?!” He shouted again.  
…  
But nobody came. Only some sounds from ceiling shafts filled the silence. He looked down, clenching his hands into a fist. His right hand swirl glowing purple. He looked at it, as anger filled his body. Regret. He just HAD to sell his soul, didn’t he? He couldn’t of faced the thought of loss like a man.

Nevertheless, he cleaned up the blood and continued his day as normal as day turned to night.


	6. Nightmare.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in Subcon Forest, a battle commences. Who wins? Find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THAT THIS HAS BEEN ON HOLD, BUT WE'RE BACK! SOOO...YAY!  
> ENJOY!~

The Conductor woke up in this purple forest. No- Subcon forest. At least- It looked like Subcon forest. A red Circle appeared under him  
“Wha…?” The Conductor sat up, confused.  
“Where am I-”  
A sort of volcanic eruption appeared under him, however, someone knocked him out of the way.  
“AUGH-” He called out. “WHAT THE-”  
It was Otto, he had a small bruise. The Snatched Conductor was there, knife in hand. He was smiling, from ear to ear, a creepy, evil smiling. Otto threw a yellow star, similar to ones he had on his jacket up into the sky. The star grew in width, like some sort of platform.  
“The PE-”  
The Conductor was picked up by Otto and put on the star Platform, Otto standing on the very edge on one of the star's points.  
“Stay here.” He wrote.  
“This is gonna get fuckin’ messy.”  
The Conductor tilted his head in confusion. “The feck do yer mea-”  
Otto flew off the platform before The Conductor could finish his sentence.  
“AYE!” He shouted. “LAD, GET BACK HERE!” He looked down from the star, realising just how high he was. The fall would surely kill him, so he stepped back a little, still enough to see what was going on down below.

Otto and the Snatched version of himself were fighting, and it was getting bloody. Both of them looked heavily wounded, both not giving up without a fight. The Snatched Conductor had several knives and blades shooting at Otto, if he wasn’t so fast, he would’ve probably been dead by now. They rushed at each other, fighting like it was a life or death matter. For Otto’s case, It was. The Conductor stood there, looking down on the bloody battle below, his eyes filled with terror as he saw what was happening to his grandson. The Snatched Conductor managed to cut a piece of Otto’s wings with his knife, and the wound was deep. Otto had the look of pain, yet he made no sound. His eyes revealing themselves, the same brown and blue The Conductor himself has. His eyes, showing so many emotions, all of them negative. Pain. Panic. Panic...Panic …

Otto jumped back as the Snatched Conductor tried to attack him, then Otto pounced on him,like a feral animal, wrapping the purple monstrosity with his wings, closing all escape routes. He revealed his talons, they were sharp as the knives his grandpa carries. He slit the Snatched Conductor’s throat, his body bleeding from the throat, his body becoming limp, then dying. Otto has won this battle, but not without a cost. He was heavily wounded. He stepped back, the body fading away like some sort of dust in the wind. All that was left of the monster was the pools of blood they left behind, which could be mistaken for Otto’s. Otto was breathing heavily, sweating, before collapsing on the floor, trying to reclaim his breath.

The star which was holding The Conductor slowly lifted him towards the ground, fading beneath the floor. The Conductor stood there for a moment, in shock - and terrified - silence. What...Just happened? And since WHEN in the flying fuck did Otto learn to fight like that?! He has never fought before in his life! The Conductor snapped out of this fear filled trance, and ran over to Otto, who was on his knees, wings open, bleeding, wounded.  
“LAD!” He looked around, to see anything that could be of help, but nothing was there, Otto’s feathers got more and more blood stained, but he had a smile. Not an evil grin, not a happy smile. No. This was something different. He was bleeding from multiple wounds everywhere except from his face, which has only suffered that bruise from earlier.  
“LAD-” He struggled to get his words out.  
“WHA- WHAT THE PECK WAS T-H-A-T?!” Otto made some chuckle movements, but made no sounds.  
“You’ve been in this nightmare for a long time, Malcom.” Otto wrote, with a grin on his face.  
“You better wake up before you forget how to…”


End file.
